


Invisible

by Nothing_You_Can_Prove



Series: Firewalkers [8]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Holding Hands, Kissing, Short One Shot, amberprice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 14:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14696211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_You_Can_Prove/pseuds/Nothing_You_Can_Prove
Summary: When the universe turns its back on you, deems you invisible, it's only right to return the favor.





	Invisible

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, this one is gonna be at least a little angsty. That’s what I get for listening to feelsy music.

**Invisible**

American Rust. Arcadia Bay’s junkyard. On the outskirts of town, far away from civilized society. Surrounded by nature, more like invading it. Where broken or unwanted objects resided, laid to rest in pieces. Left to rot.

Twisted metal, broken glass, ripped fabric… shattered dreams, wasted potential, faded memories and ghosts. Dead to the world.

 _Forgotten_.

“Sounds familiar,” Chloe mumbled to herself, sighing.

Smoke danced above her as she slowly exhaled. It swirled in lazy circles, soothing. She got lost in the gray wisp, partly obscuring the ceiling. Battered pillows softened the makeshift wooden bench she was lying on in her sanctuary. The gentle strum of a guitar accompanied by haunting lyrics hung in the air alongside the smoke, enveloping her.

If she closed her eyes and let her imagination run wild, it felt like she was floating. Maybe if she closed them tight enough, imagined hard enough, she could float above the clouds… high enough to see her dad again.

What would he tell her this time? A beautiful lie – that people cared – or the harsh truth, that they didn’t.

Well, 99% didn’t.

“Assholes,” she muttered under her breath, frowning.

The world had made Chloe feel so… invisible. Like her usefulness had finally run dry. A detriment to her “friends”, family and society. To the universe. Everyone turned against her, right when she needed them the most.

Treated differently for being the “dead dad” girl, old news soon enough. Ignored. Bypassed by some random mustached asshole. Unloved. No longer needed as a best friend. Replaced. Left to drown in her own tears. Numb.

Nobody seemed to care, instead watching her self-destruct. Making it worse by trying to “make it better”.

“For who?” she whispered angrily. No answer. “Not me, that’s for sure.”

She had been so frustrated and bitter. Nobody understood. Most didn’t even bother trying. All they saw was some rebellious angsty teen with too many issues to deal with. A nuisance. They never said it aloud, didn’t have to. Chloe could always see it in their eyes. That judgment or worse…

 _Pity_.

A grimace. Everybody pretended to care until they suddenly didn’t. When they realized she was “impossible to deal with”. A rebel without a cause. They were wrong. She had a cause, she just… didn’t have anyone to share it with.

Until…

“Yo, Chloe. Anyone in there?” The question shook her from her unsettling daydream.

Focusing on reality again, she was met with a familiar pretty face. Pale skin, long blonde hair, sparkling hazel eyes and the trademark blue feather earring.

Rachel Amber.

Her heart jolted to life, temporarily forgetting her musings. Blinking a couple times, she shook her head to clear it. “Hey, Rach.”

A blonde eyebrow raised at the distracted greeting, faintly suspicious. “You totally spaced out there. And… I’m pretty sure I heard you muttering to yourself.” Concern flickered across her face, especially audible with her next two words. “Doing okay?”

Sitting up to let her girlfriend on the bench, Chloe tried to hide her previous sadness. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Rachel gave her a skeptical look as she joined the punk. “I’m calling bullshit on that.” She affectionately nudged Chloe’s ribs with her elbow. “If you’re gonna lie to me, at least make it challenging to prove.”

Their first ever game of two truths and a lie had shown her impressive bullshit detector. A day both girls remembered well for various reasons. The definitive start to their journey.

“I’m not lying,” she defended much too quickly.

Clearly not believing that for a second, Rachel crossed her arms. “Right. What was I just talking about then?”

Stalling, Chloe took an educated guess. “Uh… me?”

“Lucky guess.” She patted her lap, offering it as a pillow. “Tell Dr. Amber all your troubles.” Her girlfriend scoffed, hazel eyes narrowing at the sound. “Come on, Price. You know my therapy skills are the best in the bay.”

“Not difficult,” Chloe replied as she laid her head on Rachel’s legs, getting comfortable.

“True,” slender fingers gently removed her beanie, then ran through blue hair. “Which means you are in totally safe hands with me.”

Resting her hands on her stomach, Chloe let out a sigh. “I know.”

Rachel had this inexplicable way of making her feel protected, keeping the demons at bay. A weird combination of vulnerable and invincible. At first, it had scared her. Honestly, it still did sometimes. She wouldn’t give it up for anything or anyone, though.

Already knowing it was impossible to convincingly lie to Rachel, she committed herself to the truth. “I guess I was just thinking…”

Hazel eyes stared down at her, filled with gentle encouragement and love. It left her breathless. Unable to meet Rachel’s gaze any longer, she glanced out of the window. ‘Lalaland this way’ was written in black on the wall, an arrow pointing out to the world. Potential words danced on her tongue, unvoiced.

Vulnerability was hard, but not a weakness. She had to remind herself of that.

Sighing, Chloe took her girlfriend’s left hand, squeezing it. “So many people have fucked me over, pretended to give a shit. Then just… _poof_. Gone.” She hesitated, faint flickers of bitter betrayal coloring her words.

Patiently, Rachel waited. She knew there was more to say. All the while, she continued to play with Chloe’s hair and rubbed small circles on the back of her palm knowing it helped soothe her.

The anger faded away at her touch, Chloe shuffling slightly. “It just doesn’t seem real some days. Like it’s some cruel and twisted joke. How can one person make life bearable?” she paused, correcting herself, “ _Enjoyable_. I guess it just reminds me… how lucky I am to have you in my life.”

“See, was that so hard to tell me?” Rachel playfully teased, trying to lighten the mood.

“It was,” Chloe admitted, letting their fingers intertwine.

The only person she had ever let in her head before Rachel was Max. Confided her deepest darkest secrets and fears. That would have continued if her “best friend” hadn’t moved to Seattle. Forgotten her.

Did Max even think about her once? That would lead to a million other painful questions, all without answers.

She had given Rachel access to places Max never explored. Hopes and dreams. Fears and insecurities. The best and worst her mind could offer. Rachel hadn’t shied away, instead showed her the same in return. It led to insane emotion fuelled arguments sometimes, but they trusted each other enough to know it wouldn’t break what they had.

Knowing Chloe’s current expression well, Rachel brought her girlfriend’s hand to her lips, kissing the back of her palm softly. “It’s scary, right? Trusting someone so much when everyone else has fucked you over. Again and again…”

“Yeah,” was all the punk could manage in response.

Scary didn’t even _begin_ to cover it.

“But some people have definitely earned it. You are part of that exclusive club for me. Congrats.” Rachel turned Chloe’s hand over, kissing the inside of her wrist. “You get my unwavering affection and attention. Pretty good deal, huh?”

Feeling tears well up in her eyes, the punk nodded. “It… is.”

Noticing her sadness, Rachel’s heart dropped. She’d seen Chloe cry more than anyone. Each time felt like a painful stab to the heart… or several. It made her own hazel eyes water, knowing the pain intimately.

“Come on Price, you’ll start me off.” It had been intended as a playful chastising, but came out as a broken string of words.

“I just… don’t want to lose this… lose you.” Chloe’s voice faltered. “I… _can’t_.”

That would be too much.

“You’re not losing me, Chloe,” Rachel reassured, gentle yet confident. “They’d have to drag me away kicking and screaming.” She offered a watery wink. “And you know I can put up a fight.”

The punk managed a shaky smile. “Don’t I fucking know it. Got the bruises to prove it.”

“Pfft,” Rachel huffed melodramatically, suppressing a smirk. “I take great offense to that.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, feeling a little better. She had no idea how Rachel could just… improve her day in a heartbeat. One dazzling smile. Some dorky comment. Arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace. A tender kiss.

The smallest thing could inspire intense emotions.

More composed than Chloe, Rachel began to kiss away her tears. She hoped to absorb some of the sadness, relieve her girlfriend of even a small amount of pain. It was all she could do, show that someone _did care_.

If only they had met sooner…

Lips hovered close, whispered lyrics escaping them in time with the song playing in the background. “I swear to you, it’ll be okay. Not today, but one day. One day you will wake up and smile for no damn reason. But today, we can cry today. We can be invisible.” Closing the distance, she pressed her lips against Chloe’s in a sweet kiss before adding her own words as an afterthought, “Because we _choose_ to be invisible, not because the world decides it for us.”

Rachel Amber had been invisible in her own way until now. Hidden in the shadows of her various masks. False perfection.

Smiling now, Chloe reached up to wipe the tears away from her girlfriend’s cheek. “When I smile, it’s because of you, Rachel Amber.”

Leaning into her touch, the blonde held the bluenette’s hand to her face. “And you are _never_ invisible to me, Chloe Price.”

They continued to kiss until the tears ran dry. Forehead, cheek, nose, lips, neck. Everywhere and anywhere they could reach. Kissing each other’s scars.

This time around, the world was invisible to _them_.

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics are from Invisible by Dandelion Hands. Thanks for reading :) I’m sure there will be more Amberprice on the way at some point (once I get more ideas/time/motivation. The deadly writer's block combo, lol).


End file.
